Douglas Arant

William Douglas Arant (May 19, 1897 – October 1987) was a Birmingham, Alabama attorney.

Early life He was born on a small farm in Waverly, Lee County, Alabama. He was the son of William Jackson and Emma Baker Arant. The Arants were French Huguenots who originally settled in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The Alabama Arants settled in central Alabama early in the 19th century.

He finished High School in three years (1914) and then received a scholarship, given by General and Mrs. R. D. Johnston, enabling him to enroll at the University of Virginia. While at UVA, he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In May 1918 his studies were interrupted by the war. He went to Atlanta to enlist as a Navy flier, but his eyesight was poor, and he joined the army. He was sent to Ft. Oglethorpe where he was enrolled in a regular army cavalry unit, then sent to a ranch in Texas and to Camp Clark, where he, as the only one in his battery who could read and write, was made Clerk. He had attended Officers Candidate Training School at Camp Taylor, Kentucky, and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1919.

Legal career In 1920 he received both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Virginia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1923 he received his law degree, magna cum laude at Yale University, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, and was instructor of political science during the summer terms. He was admitted to the Alabama Bar in 1923 and in 1927 he joined the firm of Tilman, Bradley and Baldwin, now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

Personal life He married Letitia Tyler McNeel on December 31, 1929, and they had three daughters and a number of grandchildren.

Honors He was appointed to the US Postal Commission by Richard Nixon.

In 2005, Arant was inducted into the Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame.